The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum

This was a rough week. I'm not going to get into specific details, but it was just one stressful thing after another, and I felt more alone than I have in weeks. So when Saturday rolled around, I said, "Screw this. I'm going to do something fun." And so I went to the Instant Ramen Museum.

This is Momofuku Ando, my hero and the patron saint of college students everywhere. In 1958, he created the world's first instant noodles, after years of trial and error. His motto? "Peace will come to the world when the people have enough to eat." If that isn't inspiring, I don't know what is.

Upon first entering the museum, an employee greeted me and gave me an English museum guide, which I appreciated. Then, I set off to do some exploring. 

It's not the best picture, but this is a replica of the shack where Ando invented instant ramen. Every day, he would work tirelessly, only getting 4 hours of sleep a night, like a college student during finals week. Except for ramen is more important than finals.

Next was an exhibit on the evolution of instant ramen, ending with noodles in space! Even though I couldn't read most of the captions, I got the gist of it and it was really fun and interesting. Following that, I watched a video on Ando's life in the theater, which was shaped like a giant cup of noodles. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture, but it was really cool. 

Finally, I got to create my own ramen at the "MY CUPNOODLES Factory". First, you pay 300 yen at a vending machine to get your cup, and then decorate it at the tables. After that, you head to the "factory" portion of the exhibit, where you give your cup to a worker, and choose your soup flavor and toppings. 

My completed cup.

Not the best picture (I took this one on my phone), but the worker places your cup over the noodles, instead of the noodles in the cup. This is actually how they do it at the factories.

This is the machine where they seal your finished cup in plastic. I was smiling like an idiot at this point- I honestly felt like a little kid, I was having such a great time.

After creating my own cup of noodles, I headed to the tasting room, where I bought some special-edition ramen from a vending machine. I don't know if it was just because I was starving, but it was probably the best instant ramen I've ever had.

Lastly, I finished my tour with a journey through the instant ramen tunnel, containing every flavor of Nissin instant ramen since 1958. 

 

All in all, I had a great time at the museum. Even though I was by myself, it was still really fun. I was able to enjoy things at my own pace, and it was a good escape from the stress of the week. If you ever come to Japan, this is one of the first things I would recommend! It's fun for everyone, no matter how young or old. Here is the museum's website. Also, for those of you who don't know, I have an instagram (@beancelia) where I post more frequently about my adventures.
*raises cup of noodles* Here's to a better week!